Where better to win an award for wine than in Paris?

Seven years ago I ran away from the UK to enrol in a Diploma of Wine at Le Cordon Bleu Paris. And so my Skinny Champagne and Skinny Prosecco story began.

I’ve always been obsessed with wine and with health.  I was raised vegetarian by a single mother health food entrepreneur in the days when wholemeal bread over Mother’s Pride was considered a radical choice.

I met a Champagne maker who was so talented, he didn’t need to add processed sugar to his wine to create its characteristic sweet taste, et voila, my eureka moment.  So it really was a wonderful moment, returning to Le Cordon Bleu Paris for its Alumni Gala and Awards.

I’d thought of the Awards as a lovely opportunity to socialise with former tutors and was overwhelmed to actually win the category for Best Business Concept in the Winegrowing Industry. A huge honour, and one which will let me take my message about transparency in wine labelling to a bigger audience.

I’m always asked about ‘diet prosecco’ and ‘low-calorie champagne’, but we’re not interested in diets and food fads.  I want to raise awareness about the shocking lack of transparency about what goes into our bottles from unnecessary amounts of refined sugar to pesticides and animal by-products. This is a subject for another time because, for now, I’m celebrating!

Le Cordon Bleu, the leading Global Network of Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management Institutes, announced the winners of the first ever 2017 Alumni Awards during the annual alumni gala, at Le Cordon Bleu Paris institute campus, in the 15th district, alongside the river Seine on 18 September.  The 2017 alumni gala brought together around 200 alumni, from a variety of Le Cordon Bleu Paris institute programmes and graduating classes.

Published: 25/09/2017